Larrivee Sitka/Mahogany OM strings

[John Lee Pettimore]

What are your favorite strings on your Larrivee Sitka/Mahogany OM?

I'm playing Ernie Ball Earthwood PB 12-54.  They're the only strings I've had on it and they sound great, but I still like to experiment with a few strings on recent quitar acquisitions. 

[John in Charm City]

D'addario XS - just my personal preference.  Martin used to be my go to but after their latest change (a few years ago), they just don't seem to hold up as well.  I do prefer coated strings so ymmv.

John
 

[BlueBowman]

XS strings are pretty great. I do like them on my Larrivee sitka/mahogany OM. I think my personal favorites might be SCGC medium "parabolic" strings. Like the XS's, they also last quite a long time. If you don't wanna go in for the price of those, try out a set of Curt Mangan roundcore strings. I go with phosphor bronze. Really lovely sounding strings. Just make sure you do your due diligence in NOT cutting the strings before tuning them to pitch.

But the truth is, I don't think I've put a bad set of strings on that guitar, no matter the brand. It's tough to make a really good spruce/mahogany guitar sound bad with any set of strings, IMO. Can't say the same for spruce/rosewood, which can be a little more finicky string-wise.

Let us know what works for you!

[John in Charm City]

thanks - had not heard of Santa Cruz strings before - just ordered a set of light tension to try them out.

John

[BlueBowman]

thanks - had not heard of Santa Cruz strings before - just ordered a set of light tension to try them out.

John

Cool. I seem to always hear a little something extra in the treble when I use them on my Larrivee OM. I'm sure it's the bass strings influencing the high E, but I like it. Hope they work for you.

[B0WIE]

thanks - had not heard of Santa Cruz strings before - just ordered a set of light tension to try them out.
John

They're my favorite. Funny thing is, despite being expensive, they last so long that I find them more economical than other brands. I get 5 days out of most strings. 3 weeks from DR. 3 months from Elixr. SCGCs last me at least a year. And, the best thing is there's no dramatic swing in tone. They change very little over their lifespan and then finally get a little dull around the same time the texture changes. That's important to me as I hate adapting my technique to the condition of the strings.

 If you have not used round-core strings, keep in mind that the wound string behavior is different. The wounds aren't as bright as hex core, but they have a more defined fundamental that sustains longer. This can be advantageous for fingerstyle, arpeggios, etc.